Professions and jubilee celebrations in Indonesia

As it is a long-standing tradition in Indonesia, 1 and 2 July have become days of celebrating the profession of vows. This year was no different. In the evening of 1 July 2019, eight new novices were received in the chapel of St. Petrus Canisius Community in Muntilan by the Provincial Superior Bro. Fransiskus Dwiyatno. They are Bros. Andrias Heru Puhun, Hieronymus WisnumurtiRahadyan, Arcancio Maral, and Thomas Aquino Prastianto for the canonical year program while Bros. Thomas Nova Wibisono, Antonius Padua Jayatri, Agustinus Agung Hamonongan, and Hendricus Arie Handoko began the second year novitiate program.

The event was preceded by a three-day reflection for the candidates in initial formation and the brothers who were to make final vows and those celebrating their Jubilees. The reflection program was aimed at creating an opportunity for a deeper reflection on their vocation and the essence of the various steps each was about to take in life. The event was attended by scores of FIC brothers, families of the candidates, relatives and friends. This made our candidates feel fully supported and confident to continue the process of their initial formation.

Early in the morning of 2 July, the ceremony of renewal of vows was held in the same chapel for six brothers namely Laurensius Baharu, Andrias Eko Susanto, Robertus Ari, Romanus Paryanto, Yohanes Albert Pratama, and Yohanes Sarwono to renew their vows. The ceremony was administered by the Provincial Superior Bro. Frans Dwiyatno. At 1 0 .00 a.m. a grand Eucharistic celebration was held in the chapel o f Van Lith boarding school during which Bros. PaulusY. Elwin Zagoto and RD. Agustinus Marsanto made their final profession and Bro. Aloysius Riyanto and Bro . Fransiskus Saptono made their first profession. RD. Alexius Dwi Aryanto, the vicar General of Keduled presided over the Eucharistic celebration assisted by Rev. Fr. P. Herman Sina (SVD). The celebration was attended by most FIC brothers, families, relatives, friends and invited guests. A number of our brothers also marked various jubilees. They are Bros. Salvinus Rohmad Supani, Michael Sidharta, Antonius Parjono, Yosep Anton Utmiyadi, Pilipus Sukiran and Agustinus Subaryana.

At the end of the celebration Bro. Theodorus read a pastoral letter written by the General Superior to the Indonesia Provincial Superior concerning the event. Part of the letter reads as follows: " .....being humble means we increasingly love and trust God in our daily lives. Being humble means we become more and more open to building harmonious cooperationwithothers.Iam gratefulthatthesetwothingshavebeen emphasized by the brothers in the message of the 2018 Indonesian ProvincialChapter.‘Consecratedlifeis,firstofall,acalltoholiness... The struggle to be holy can only be developed in a continuous worship in the presence of God, which is practiced, among others, in diligent loyalty to build a spiritual culture...the more intense our quest for the God of love, the more so everything in our life will come to harmony and unity. The more profound our union with Jesus, the more we will be encouraged to build profound relationship with others. This is our call.'"

After the Eucharistic celebration all guests were invited to have lunch in our brothers’ house in Muntilan. An entertainment of life music performance was led by our students from Pangudi Luhur Vocational School Muntilan. The atmosphere during the celebration was very joyful and we felt the spirit of brotherhood and togetherness, not only among the FIC brothers but also between us and the families, relatives and friends. Let us continue to pray for those who were the centre of the celebration that they may be faithful to what they professed.

Bro. Theodorus Suwaryanto